Strong Eagle wrote:the lynx wrote:Brah wrote:Happened upon this thread and thought it would be good to hear from the two of you who left occasionally to see how once you're distanced from here how it a) feels to be away and b) how it feels to be back, once settled in.
I think anyone living overseas for an extended time goes through a few phases upon return (I wouldn't know as I have yet to do it, but feel my day is coming soon) - much like those phases of arriving in a new country.
Plus it's been a year or so since SE left, that's enough time to have it all sink in.
Yeah it is nice to read I'm-back-home reports from RobSg and FaeLLe. Waiting for the rest to do so.
I've been back home for a year and a couple of months. I wish I were back in Asia. Several reasons:
a) I'm just one more old white guy back in the USA. Ageism is rampant in the hiring process. I've been an excellent fit for at least 3 major positions, and after the face to face, I never hear from anyone again. I see 35 and 40 year old guys react with fear that I'd be a better leader in their domain than they would.
b) I'm in Texas... home of the tea party yahoos... the racism and white privilege is rampant... just the other day had one guy tell me that he "hates Negro lovers". Yes, I know that Singapore has racist elements, but nothing like the overt racism that continues to exist in the south.
c) I'm in Houston... third world roads and infrastructure. Why? Because the tea party types and small government extremists choke off any attempt to repair roads, to fix bridges, to provide for parks. Seriously, Houston is a shit city in this respect... no sidewalks in most places, either. I guarantee you the roads are better in any city in Laos than they are here.
d) I'm in the thick of religious extremists... anti-gay, anti-contraception, anti abortion, anti compassion, anti woman, anti-education... anti anything that might upset their rigidly held belief system. They stick their noses in every last godd*mn political issue, creating nothing but divisiveness.
e) Highly aggressive drivers... sure, Singapore may be filled with "blur" people and lots of carrots... but you've got the kind of idiots here that pull out simply because they don't care if you have to slam on your brakes. You've got the morons that absolutely must race to get in front of you, jam their way into line, in order to save two seconds. I always remained calm in Singapore traffic... the urge to kill in Houston has run high.
I miss the clean, well maintained infrastructure of Singapore. I miss grabbing a ferry and going to Batam for a day of golf. I miss the weekend (or multiple day) jaunts to all sorts of places in Asia. I miss the unique flavor that is Singapore and Asia. I've been pretty teflon like when it comes to the shittier parts of Singapore life... I just engage. I'm glad that the religious pricks, the tea party pricks, the redneck pricks (Chinese style) are relatively few and far between.
I do appreciate the fact that I see my daughter, son in law, and granddaughter with much more regularity. I'm glad I see my friends more often but sad that I no longer see my dear Singapore friends.
I appreciate the four seasons, weather wise, even if Houston's spring and fall are short lived... it is bracing to wake up to 40F or 50F temperatures.
Maybe I'd like it better if I were in another city, but then the whole point of being close to family and friends would be out the window. So... bottom line... if I could get back, I would.
I miss my Asian lifestyle, and I am not integrating well with my new American lifestyle.